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Vol 2 - No. 14  April 5, 2001    BULLET POINTS

* NSSF BOARD VOTES NO TO NEW ORLEANS IN 2004 - MOVES SHOW TO LAS VEGAS . . .
At its most recent meeting, the NSSF Board of Governors, in consideration of
the reduced dealer attendance at the recent New Orleans SHOT SHOW and the
mayor's lawsuit against our industry, has canceled plans for the 2004 SHOT
SHOW in New Orleans and has reserved the Las Vegas Convention Center for the
dates February 12-15, 2004, "These new Las Vegas dates are somewhat later
than our traditional cycle," noted Bob Delfay, chairman of the SHOT SHOW
Committee, "but the NSSF Board had little doubt that these February
dates in Las Vegas would be preferable to earlier dates in New Orleans."

In a letter to the president of the New Orleans Convention and Visitors
Bureau, Delfay wrote, "It is no secret that our industry feels distinctly
unwelcome in the Crescent City by virtue of Mayor Morial's lawsuit against
not only legitimate and responsible firearms manufacturers, but also against
the National Shooting Sports Foundation itself.  As you know, it was only
through the strongly supportive efforts of Governor Foster that our Board
made the difficult decision to bring the SHOT SHOW to New Orleans in 2001.

Unfortunately, our recent experience does not justify future shows in New
Orleans in the foreseeable future."

Editiorial comment: the loss of revenue to the city of New Orleans by moving
the shot show elsewhere will cost the city over $10 million in revenues from
just this one show itself. Maybe the voters in New Orleans will elect a new
mayor and city council in the near future more liberal in their thinking
regarding firearms, firearms ownership, and legal possession thereof.

* INDUSTRY RECOGNIZED AT WILDLIFE CONFERENCE . . .
Firearms and ammunition manufacturers were recognized recently for their
long-standing support of professional wildlife management through the work
of the industry-funded Wildlife Management Institute (WMI).  The
presentation, attended by new Interior Secretary Gale Norton and some 200
conservation leaders, took place at the Conservation Administrators Luncheon
at the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in
Washington, D.C.  The conference
is organized and sponsored by the Wildlife Management Institute (WMI). In
making the presentation, Paul Hansen, executive director of the Izaak Walton
League (IWLA), recognized industry for its "extraordinary work on behalf of
the nation's wildlife."  Hansen said, "All too often today, organizations do
a little and brag a lot.  This outfit has done a lot and bragged little. In
fact, they have bragged hardly at all.  Generations of wildlife biologists
have benefited enormously from their commitment, as have generations of
wildlife. They have never asked for anything in return for all their money
except for better wildlife management.  Most Americans have no idea of the
commitment this
industry has made in their behalf-which is too bad because many American's
have a simple-minded and monolithic view of this industry that does not
square with the record.  We, at the IWLA, thought it was time we thank these
companies for their unparalleled record of support for our nation's
wildlife."  The award was accepted on behalf of the entire industry by Jim
Garrison of H&R 1871, former chairman of WMI; Pete Jackson, president of
Alliant Powder and current WMI chairman; and Bob Delfay, a member of the WMI
Board of Directors.

* NSSF AND ESPN ANNOUNCE QUALIFYING FOR THE GREAT OUTDOOR GAMES . . .
The National Shooting Sports Foundation will once again be managing the
rifle, shotgun and archery events for ESPN at the 2001 Great Outdoor Games
in Lake Placid, N.Y., July 12-15. Competition begins with the rifle event on
the 13th, with shotgun and archery events scheduled for July 13 and 14. The
archery venue will again be run in cooperation with the Archery
Manufacturers and Merchants Organization (AMO). Qualifying events for the
three disciplines are:

o April 6-8 -- Archery Grand Casino Coushatta Pro/Am, Kinder, LA.
o April 27-29 -- Rifle and Shotgun Sportsman's Team Challenge National
Championships, San Antonio, TX.
o May 11-12 & 18-19 --

Shotgun Chief Shoot & Armed Forces National Skeet Championships, Phoenix,
AZ.
o May 11-13 -- Archery 3-D Team Shoot, French Lick, IN.
o June 8-10 -- Rifle Sportsman's Team Challenge Regional Event, Topton, PA.

For more information about the Great Outdoor Games, go to the ESPN Web site
or contact Larry Ference at NSSF at lference@nssf.org.

* RANGE ASSOCIATION GOES GLOBAL . . .
The National Association of Shooting Ranges (NASR), a division of NSSF, is
expanding its reach and going international thanks to the assistance of the
World Shooting Federation (WSF) and the International Practical Shooting
Confederation (IPSC). At their annual meeting in Nuremberg, Germany, last
month, the two groups voted to adopt NASR programs and to distribute
materials and resources to 70 countries around the world. The effort will
begin with sending the NASR video, "Your Range, Your Image, Your Future," to
all WSF and IPSC national directors. "We appreciate the invaluable work and
effort which has gone into the NASR programs," said Nick Alexakos, president
of WSF and IPSC. "It's all there. Very well presented, concise, interesting
and extremely informative," he said. Commenting on the new international
endeavor, NASR's Rick Patterson noted, "The challenges that shooting ranges
face are the same all over the world. Different countries may be at
different points along the curve, but the curve is the same. It's a huge
compliment to have organizations with the scope and quality of WSF and IPSC
embrace our programs and underlying vision for a better future."

* NEWS ARTICLE SHOWS WEAK LINKS IN CRIMINAL HISTORY DATA . . .
A major, front-page article in the March 29 issue of USA TODAY says the
National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) on gun purchasers
suffers from "fragmented computer systems" and "antiquated criminal
records."

The flaws in the system "could be allowing thousands of felons to buy guns
illegally each year" the paper says. The problem, according to the FBI, is a
lack of comprehensive, computerized court records at the state level, and/or
the FBI's lack of access to many state records that are computerized. In
some cases, state computers are not compatible with the FBI's and data
cannot be exchanged. In other instances, state privacy laws prevent FBI from
accessing critical information such as that pertaining to a gun purchaser's
mental health history. In yet other cases, state records are not fully
computerized. In all of these situations, the FBI must then rely on court
clerks to physically search individual records, a time-consuming process
that may not be completed within the three days allowed by law for the FBI
to approve or disapprove a gun purchase. The situation is "beyond the FBI's
control" a Bureau official told Congress last year. "Our data is only as
good as (what) the states give us," the official said.

* STEP OUTSIDE� MAKES DEBUT ON MAJOR CABLE NETWORK . . .
The NSSF's STEP OUTSIDE campaign is taking a major "step" forward this month
when it makes its television debut on the popular North American Outdoors
show, seen on the ESPN 2 cable network. The show will air Saturday, April 7,
at 9:30 a.m. EDT, and is the first in a series that will feature STEP
OUTSIDE. Produced by the North American Membership Group (NAMG), formerly
the North American Hunting Club, North American Outdoors enjoys a tremendous
following among outdoorsmen and women. "We are extremely excited about the
show, and deeply appreciate NAMG's effort on behalf of STEP OUTSIDE," said
Jodi DiCamillo, national coordinator of the STEP OUTSIDE Program. "After
seeing the segments, we're sure people will be convinced that inviting
newcomers to STEP OUTSIDE to enjoy traditional outdoor sports is the right
thing to do," DiCamillo said.

* STATES TAKE STEPS TO PROTECT SHOOTING INDUSTRY . . .
Legislation to protect the firearm industry from politically motivated
lawsuits have progressed in Indiana and North Dakota. The Indiana Senate
recently gave final approval to a bill previously passed in the House that
now goes to Gov. Frank O'Bannon for signing. In North Dakota, Gov. John
Hoeven signed a bill barring such suits in that state.


Sincerely,

HSS LE Sales